Morning Tea Mt VictoriaPuncture 3 for the morning, first for SpizaOld man trying not to look tired at LithgowBack to our favourite pub at Mt Victoria to reward ourselves, 150 down only 100 to go. (Do other people have to do this sort of thing to justify having a beer?)

It's a sad day when a round trip to Elizabeth Dr. has to be recorded as my HTFU Thursday ride but that's what I get for having eights weeks off the bike to go traveling Some hard work ahead for me I can see NFS

Well it's that day of the week again. Slept in, not out the door till well past 7.00. Not a good start.Punishing head wind all the way out the F4 and up through the Blue Mts. Just to maximise the hurt it turned really frigid across the plateau to Mt Victoria beyond Katoomba. The late start combined with the slow pace into the wind saw me well behind my anticipated schedule by the time I got to Mt Vic. Last evening had toyed with the idea of doing a recce out to Jenolan Caves and maybe just duck back to Lithgow or Mt Vic and jump on the train home. It was so cold that I was concerned about snow down on the Oberon road and since I do not consider a short sleeved jersey with a gillet to be snow gear discretion was the better part of valour and decided to turn around at Mt Vic. Popped into my friends at Blackheath for a coffee in front of a roaring fire. Was tempting to just stay there and jump on a PM train but the name of the game is HTFU so it was back on the road and head for home. That last little climb past the Explorers Tree before Katoomba always hurts but the consolation is that it's all down hill home from there!Finished up with 205 km in 7hrs 55m. which was about 25.8kph. Slow but reasonable given the conditions I consoled myself!What the ride did confirm I think is that I am still not quite ready for the proposed weekend run out Lithgow and back. I do not think I am ready yet for the extra loop across the Causeway and back up the Victoria Pass. Need a few more HTFU days to be ready for that one.

Very windy today which didn't help on the dead roads between Richmond and the climb to Hawkesbury Heights. I ate and drank my own body-weight in Vietnamese pork and chicken rolls in Springwood for lunch and that fueled me for the descent back home. The M4 shoulder from Russell St to the M7 with a tailwind was awesome.

Another inductee to HTFU Thursday! Like a lamb to the slaughter, about half way up Bowen Mt Rd a voice behind me said " this must be that last steep pitch I noted on Google Earth". I could only offer a gentle "No, there's quite a wee bit still to come" and that was the last words I heard until he arrived slightly the worse for wear at the top some minutes later. Well done Boogers, he done good For those who do not know it, it's a ripper of a climb with every pitch steeper than the one before. Every bend reveals another section steeper than the last, can be quite intimidating. Finished off up the Hawkesbury Lookout to Springwood and a nice run home finally without the wind in our faces! A good day out, thanks for the company Simon.NFS

Sandy the corners made Bowen Mountain tolerable . Not knowing the climb at least meant that you can only see small chunks at a time. When I got down to 31 rpm cadence, 18% (that I could see glancing at the comp) and 6 kph close to the top I was starting to worry and then I saw your smiling face at the top of the "hill".

At last back on the road for a HTFU Thursday. 160 km down to Camden and home bit different from usual Blue Mts outings however got to say that The Gt. Northern Rd is an excellent cycle route. Highly recommended. Smooth, nice wide hard shoulder to keep you well away from the traffic. Good to catch up with the bmxbandito for the first time in a few months.NFS

NotFlyingScot wrote:At last back on the road for a HTFU Thursday. 160 km down to Camden and home bit different from usual Blue Mts outings however got to say that The Gt. Northern Rd is an excellent cycle route. Highly recommended. Smooth, nice wide hard shoulder to keep you well away from the traffic. Good to catch up with the bmxbandito for the first time in a few months.NFS

I hope you rode up Old Razorback given that it was HTFU Thursday. If there was no climbing then it wasn't HTFU Thursday, it was just another ride

Last edited by Chuck on Fri Nov 05, 2010 1:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

NotFlyingScot wrote:At last back on the road for a HTFU Thursday. 160 km down to Camden and home bit different from usual Blue Mts outings however got to say that The Gt. Northern Rd is an excellent cycle route. Highly recommended. Smooth, nice wide hard shoulder to keep you well away from the traffic. Good to catch up with the bmxbandito for the first time in a few months.NFS

I hope rode up Old Razorback given that it was HTFU Thursday. If there was no climbing then it wasn't HTFU Thursday, it was just another ride

I'll pay that Chuck Thought one of my "friends" might pull me up on that one. I think the bmxbandito was planning a run up the hill during his lunch break but I did not have the time to hang around to join him. Did not see a drop of rain the whole trip yet jumped on the M7 cycleway just after I swung off the F4 and there must have just been a downpour. Got totally soaked and filthy clothes and bike in about two kilometres